Speaker systems for off-road vehicles, ATVs, UTVs, watercraft, and motorcycles

ABSTRACT

Speaker systems are provided, particularly for mounting in off-road vehicles, ATVs, UTVs, watercraft and motorcycles. The speaker systems may include a linear array of speakers and a housing encasing a backside thereof. In some cases, the housing includes sliding track mounts along its top and bottom surfaces. In addition or alternatively, the speaker systems may include nut and bolt fasteners arranged on top of the housing and/or mounting brackets arranged along opposing lateral sides of the housing. In some embodiments, a speaker system may be suspended in proximity to an upper bar of a windshield frame, front roll bar, and/or front edge of a roof of a vehicle and adjustable mounting brackets may be used to direct the speakers toward the driver and passenger seats of the vehicle. In some cases, a speaker system may be operationally independent from a stereo of a vehicle in which it is mounted.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 61/764,637 filed Feb. 14, 2013. The present application is further acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Design application Nos. 29/445,639;29/445,640; 29/445,651; 29/445,652; 29/445,656; and Ser. No. 29/445,659filed Feb. 14, 2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to speaker systems and morespecifically to speaker systems for off-road vehicles, ATVs, UTVs,watercraft and motorcycles.

2. Description of the Related Art

The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior artby virtue of their inclusion within this section.

Auxiliary sound systems made for all terrain vehicles (ATV), utilityterrain vehicles (UTV), watercraft, and motorcycles generally offerlimited acoustical enhancements, place strain on electrical systems ofthe vehicles, and lack mounting versatility. In particular, all productson the market are plastic molds made to house a car stereo radio and/orcar or marine 6.5 inch speakers. As an alternative to housing a carstereo radio, some use the stereo of the vehicle in which they areinstalled for an audio signal source. In general, stereos in ATVs, UTVs,watercraft and motorcycles offer relatively little power and, thus, theacoustical enhancement of speaker systems utilizing such stereos arelimited. To get more sound output, some auxiliary speaker systemsinclude an amplifier. The inclusion of an amplifier, however, will oftencause a lot of strain on the electrical systems of ATVs and UTVs, aswell as some watercraft and motorcycles, due to their small chargingsystems. The strain on the electrical systems can in turn cause problemsto the performance of the vehicles. Furthermore, most conventionaladd-on speaker systems for ATVs and UTVs are quite large, bulky, andunattractive. Some require the removal of and/or an addition of anentire roof, making them difficult and costly to install. Moreover, mostconventional add-on speaker systems are vehicle specific and, thus, arenot versatile to different makes and models of vehicles or even todifferent types of vehicles. Lastly, many conventional add-on speakersystems have the speakers firing directly down on your head, so theperception of sound quality is very poor.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop new speaker sound systemsfor ATVs, UTVs, watercraft and/or motorcycles. It would be beneficialfor such systems to be all-in-one integrated systems, which are compactand suitable for mounting into a variety of vehicles and furthermore,which have a higher perception of sound quality relative to conventionalsystems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Speaker systems are provided, particularly for but not limited to use inoff-road vehicles, ATVs, UTVs, watercraft and motorcycles. The followdescription of various embodiments of speakers systems and vehicles isnot to be construed in any way as limiting the subject matter of theappended claims.

Embodiments of a speaker system include a linear array of speakers and ahousing encasing a backside of the linear array of speakers, wherein thehousing includes sliding track mounts along its top and bottom surfaces.The speaker system further includes one or more nut and bolt fastenersarranged on top of the housing and mounting brackets arranged alongopposing lateral sides of the housing.

Embodiments of a utility terrain vehicle include a windshield frameand/or a roll over cage and further a speaker system having a lineararray of speakers suspended in proximity to an upper bar of thewindshield frame or in proximity to a bar of the roll over cage that isforward of driver and passenger seats of the utility terrain vehicle.The linear array of speakers is suspended by mounting brackets on eitherside of the linear array of speakers. The mounting brackets areadjustable such that the linear array of speakers faces the driver andpassenger seats.

Embodiments of an all terrain vehicle include a speaker systemoperationally independent from a stereo of the all terrain vehicle,wherein the speaker system encases backsides of one or more speakers, atleast one amplifier and an audio signal source. The speaker system isdetachably coupled to a main battery of the all terrain vehicle and ismounted to the all terrain vehicle via quick disconnect mountingmechanisms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an exemplary audio sound bar;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the audio sound bar depicted in FIG. 1without its backside casing;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are, respectively, left-side and right-side views of theaudio sound bar depicted in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are, respectively, top and bottom views of the audio soundbar depicted in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are, respectively, front and rear views of the audio soundbar depicted in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken between axes AA and BB ofthe audio sound bar depicted in FIG. 8.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to limit the invention to theparticular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within thespirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The disclosure herein relates to speaker systems particularly for butnot limited to vehicular applications in which passengers are not or notable to be fully enclosed within the confines of the vehicle, such assome off-road vehicles (such as but not limited to ATVs, dirt bikes,dune buggies, sandrails, some rock crawlers), UTVs, watercraft andmotorcycles. In particular, vehicles that do not enable passengers to befully enclosed within their confines are vehicles void of windows,doors, roofs and/or windshields. Additional speakers are often desirablewithin such vehicles (i.e., relative to vehicles in which passengers areable to be fully enclosed) to overcome ambient noise and/or to enhancethe enjoyment of using the vehicle, particularly since many of suchvehicles are used for recreation. In some embodiments, the speakersystems described herein may be configured as add-on or after marketsystems in that they are installed in a vehicle after manufacture of thevehicle. In other words, the speaker systems may be retrofitted into avehicle. Alternatively, the speaker systems described herein may beinstalled in a vehicle while the vehicle is being manufactured. In anycase, it is noted that the term speaker system may be interchangeablyused herein with the term audio system.

As used herein, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) refers to a vehicle havingthree, four or six low-pressure tires, a seat that is straddled by theoperator, and handlebars for steering control. ATVs generally do nothave overhead occupant protective structures or overhead windshieldframes. An ATV is commonly known as a three-wheeler, four-wheeler, quador quad bike. Dirt bikes are motorized two wheeled vehicles whichinclude a seat that is straddled by the operator and handlebars forsteering control. Dirt bikes are a subset of motorcycles which arespecifically designed for off-road use and, thus, are not generallyclassified as street legal. Dune buggies, sandrails and rock crawlersgenerally have four or more tires and differ from ATVs by havingwindshield frames, roll over bars and/or roofs as well as non-straddleseating and steering wheels instead of handle bars. Dune buggies,sandrails and rock crawlers also differ from ATVs by having a generallywider and/or longer tire base. A utility terrain vehicle (UTV) refers toa vehicle with four or more non-highway tires, a steering wheel,non-straddle seating, and an overhead occupant protective structure.UTVs differ from dune buggies, sandrails and rock crawlers by having agenerally narrower and/or shorter tire base. UTVs are commonly known asside-by-side vehicles and recreational off-highway vehicles. As usedherein, watercraft refers to any vessel configured for water transportand/or activity, such as but not limited to boats and personalwatercraft. A motorcycle refers to a vehicle having two in-line tires, aseat that is straddled by the operator, and handlebars for steeringcontrol. Motorcycles and some watercraft do not have overhead occupantprotective structures or overhead windshield frames.

In some embodiments, the speaker systems disclosed herein may beall-in-one audio systems in that they include one or more speakers,their own audio signal source and optionally at least one amplifier. Dueto such a compilation of components, the audio systems need not beconnected to an independent audio signal to function and, thus, wheninstalled in vehicles, the systems may be operationally independent fromthe stereo of the vehicles. Furthermore, the audio systems may haveminimal wiring, particularly only a single jacket wire with power andground and, if applicable, LED lighting wires. In yet other embodiments,the speaker systems described herein may be void of their own audiosignal source and/or an amplifier. In such cases, a speaker system maybe coupled to a stereo system of a vehicle when installed therein oralternatively to another device within the vehicle that has its ownaudio signal source. In any case, the speaker systems described hereinmay, in some embodiments, include additional components, such as but notlimited to a Bluetooth source unit, a light source (e.g., light emittingdiodes), auxiliary input ports (e.g., for an MP3 player), and auxiliaryoutput ports (e.g., to go to an external amplifier for a subwoofer oradditional speakers). In some cases, the auxiliary input and outputports may be used to connect multiple audio systems together.

In some cases, the speakers systems described herein may include abattery or a battery pack. In general, ATVs, UTVs, as well as someoff-road vehicles and watercraft have very small batteries and manytimes these vehicles are used to listen to the stereo with the vehicleoff. Having a battery or a battery pack in the audio systems describedherein allows a user to use the audio system independent of a mainbattery of a vehicle, preventing the deterioration thereof. The audiosystems described herein may be coupled to a main battery of a vehiclesuch that a battery or battery pack incorporated therein is charged bythe main battery when the vehicle is running, but then supplies primarypower to the audio system when the vehicle is not running. So, an audiosystem need not be removed from a vehicle to charge it. An example of asuitable battery pack is a lithium ion battery pack, but other types ofbatteries may be used.

An additional feature of the speaker systems described herein is thatthey may have mounting mechanisms and, in some embodiments, mountingmechanisms specifically for suspending the speaker system. The mountingmechanisms may include but are not limited to nuts and bolts forattaching to flat surfaces, pipe mounts (such as for mounting to rollbars or frames), and sliding tracks. Other mounting mechanisms known inthe art may be used. In some cases, an audio system may include aplurality of different mounting mechanisms such that it may be mounteddifferent locations of a vehicle and/or in a variety of different typesof vehicles. In any case, the mounting mechanisms may sometimes beconfigured for relatively quick disconnects or release such that theaudio system may be easily and quickly detached from a givenlocation/vehicle. Examples of mounting mechanisms which are configuredfor relatively quick disconnects or release are those described inreference to FIGS. 1-9, specifically bolt-on application 26, mountingbrackets 28 and sliding track mounts 29. Other types of mountingmechanisms which offer relatively quick disconnects or release may beconsidered for the speaker systems described herein. Given suchdetachability and that the audio systems may in some embodiments includea battery or battery pack and their own audio signal source as notedabove, the audio systems described herein may in some cases be portable,allowing a user to take an audio system with them and place it inanother location, such as setting it on a table or mounting it toanother structure.

In general, the audio systems described herein may be mounted in anylocation within and/or on a vehicle, (i.e., in front of, beside, orbehind its driver seat and/or passenger seats), including but notlimited to the dashboard, the roof, the hood, the handle bars, thesteering wheel, the floor boards, or the door panels. In some cases, itmay be particularly advantageous to have an audio system arranged suchthat the speakers face the driver seat and/or front passenger seats ofthe vehicle. In particular, the human auditory system hears sound bestfrom the front and, thus, positioning the speakers of the audio systemsdescribed herein toward a driver seat and/or passenger seats of avehicle may optimize the perception of sound therefrom. A particularlysuitable spot for the audio systems described herein in some off-roadvehicles, UTVs and some watercraft may be in proximity of or directlyattached to an upper bar of a windshield frame, a front roll bar and/ora front edge of a roof. In particular, such vehicles generally haveplenty of headroom for protection during rollovers and, thus, haveplenty of room for installation of an audio system which may havespeakers directed at the driver seat and/or front passenger seats of avehicle. ATVs, motorcycles and some watercraft (such as personalwatercraft) do not generally include windshield frames, roll over barsor roofs and, thus, in such cases, the audio system described herein maybe mounted on the handle bars of the vehicle or above/upon a hood of thevehicle. In other embodiments, an audio system may be installed behind,below, above, and/or beside a driver seat and/or a passenger seat of anATV, motorcycle, or personal watercraft.

An example of an audio system is depicted in FIGS. 1-9. It is noted thatthe configuration of the audio system illustrated is merely exemplary.Many other configurations may be considered for the audio systemsconsidered herein. For example, although FIGS. 1-9 illustrate an audiosystem with eight speakers, the audio systems described herein are notso limited. In particular, the audio systems described herein mayinclude any number of speakers, including a single speaker or anyplurality of speakers. For example, it may be advantageous to make ashorter or longer array of speakers for an audio system and, thus, anaudio system may alternatively include four or ten speakers or any othernumber of speakers. Furthermore, the audio systems described herein arenot restricted to having a linear array of speakers as illustrated forthe configuration depicted in FIGS. 1-9. In particular, any arrangementof speakers may be considered for the audio systems described herein. Assuch, the audio systems described herein are not limited to thedepictions in the drawings. Furthermore, it is noted that the drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale in that particular features may bedrawn to a larger scale than other features to emphasize theircharacteristics.

FIGS. 1-9 illustrates audio system 10 having a linear array of eightspeakers 12 split on either side of control panel 14. Although notshown, a grid may be arranged over the face of the system, particularlyin front of speakers 12 for a cosmetic effect. It is noted that controlpanel 14 need not be central to the linear array speakers and furthermay alternatively be disposed on the side, top, bottom or back of thehousing encasing the backside of the speakers. As shown in the bottomview of audio system 10 in FIG. 2 (without its back-side casing), six ofthe eight speakers may be active and the other two speakers may bepassive. Other numbers and arrangements of active and passive speakersmay be considered or all the speakers may be active. In yet other cases,tweeter speakers may be included in audio system 10 with active and/orpassive speakers. In general, any type of speakers and any combinationof speaker types may be included in the audio systems described herein.Furthermore, speakers of any size may be considered for the audiosystems described herein. In some cases, particularly when the audiosystem is mounted in proximity to an upper bar of a windshield frame, afront roll bar and/or a front edge of a roof, relatively small speakersmay be of interest in order to give enough clearance from individualssitting in the driver seat and/or front passenger seat of the vehicle.For example, speakers having a width or diameter of approximately 4inches or less may be advantageous.

As further shown in FIG. 2, audio system 10 may include amplifier 16 forthe active speakers. In general, the amplifier is matched to thespeakers to provide optimum output and sound quality and, in someembodiments, the amplifier may be a full range class D high efficiencyamplifier. In any case, the audio system 10 may include its own audiosignal source such that it may be operationally independent from otherstereo systems, such as a head unit of a vehicle. In yet otherembodiments, audio system 10 may be void of its own audio signal sourceand/or amplifier.

FIG. 2 further depicts the inclusion of battery 18 and FIG. 1 depictsthe inclusion of light emitting diode (LED) lights 20 within audiosystem 10, either of which may be optional as noted above, depending onthe design specifications of the audio system. Furthermore, the number,type and placement of battery 18 and LED lights 20 may vary depending onthe design specifications of the system. In some cases, an LED may beplaced central to each speaker. The LED lights may include red, greenand blue (RGB) LEDs for cool effects and may be turned white for use asa dome light. In some embodiments, other types of light sources may beadditionally or alternatively included in the system. As shown in FIG.4, audio system 10 may include auxiliary input port 22 (e.g., for aconsumer to stream audio to the system via an MP3 player) and/orauxiliary output port 24 (e.g., to connect to an external amplifier fora subwoofer or to connect to additional speakers). Although not shown,audio system 10 may include a Bluetooth source unit as noted above. Allof such components of audio system 10 may be encased in a housing, whichmay be of any material and construction suitable to be water-resistant,weather-resistant, UV-resistant and durable to handle the jarring motionoff-roading conditions. An example material may be aluminum, but othermaterials such as plastics, composites or other metals may beconsidered.

Although the speakers are not restricted to a linear array, such aconfiguration lends to a long, narrow and compact unit, which may beparticularly advantageous for arranging in front of a driver and/or apassenger of a vehicle, such as in proximity of an upper bar of awindshield frame, a front roll bar and/or a front edge of a roof, whichas noted above are applicable for UTVs, dune buggies, sandrails and rockcrawlers. Alternatively, an audio system with a linear array of speakersmay be mounted on the dashboard, on the handle bars or upon a hood of avehicle. In yet other embodiments, an audio system with a linear arrayof speakers may be installed behind, below, above, and/or beside adriver seat and/or a passenger seat of a vehicle. As used herein, thephrase linear array of speakers refers to a group of speakers aligned ina single line or row.

As noted above, the audio systems described herein may include one ormore types of mounting mechanisms and may particularly include amounting mechanism which is configured to suspend the audio system. Asfurther noted above, the audio systems described herein may, in someembodiments, include a plurality of different mounting mechanisms suchthat they may be mounted at different locations of a vehicle and/or in avariety of different types of vehicles. An example of three differenttypes of mounting mechanisms is illustrated in FIGS. 1-9, includingbolt-on application 26 on the upper surface of the unit, mountingbrackets 28 along the sides of the unit configured for flat surfaceand/or pipe mounting, and sliding track mounts 29 along the top andbottom of the housing. In some cases, bolt-on applications 26 may bearranged over the sliding track mount that is arranged along the topsurface of the housing as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. It is noted that insuch embodiments bolt-on applications 26 may be removable, particularlyin situations when the sliding track mount on the top surface of thehousing is to be used to secure the speaker system to a structure. Inother cases, bolt-on applications 26 may be arranged over other portionsof the top surface of the housing (i.e., not over the sliding trackmount comprising the upper surface of the housing). In any case, it isnoted that sliding track mounts 29 may include any configuration knownin the art for sliding track mounts and, thus, they are not limited tothe cross-sectional design, width, or depth depicted in FIGS. 1, 3, 4,and 9. Furthermore, sliding track mounts 29 may extend between lateralends of the housing of audio system 10 as shown in FIGS. 1-9, but theyare not necessarily so limited. In particular, it is contemplated thatone or both of sliding track mounts 29 may extend less than the fulllength of the housing. Furthermore, audio system 10 may include morethan one sliding track along the upper and/or lower surfaces of thehousing,

The configuration of mounting brackets 28 to be for flat surfacemounting is that the upper surfaces of mounting brackets 28 shown inFIGS. 1, 3, 4, 7 and 8 are substantially flat. In particular, thesubstantially flat upper surfaces of mounting brackets 28 shown in FIGS.1, 3, 4, 7 and 8 may be abutted and secured to substantially flatsurfaces of structures via a nut and bolt or a screw through the holeshown in L-shaped portions 32 of mounting brackets 28. The configurationof mounting brackets 28 to be for flat surface mounting and pipemounting may be provided via an addendum part to the brackets shown inFIGS. 1-9. In particular, mounting brackets 28 may include an addendumpart with a substantially flat surface to detachably mate with thesubstantially flat upper surface of L-shaped portions 32 shown in FIGS.1, 3, 4, 7 and 8. In addition, the opposing surface of the addendum partmay be concave for mating with a pipe. The addendum part may beremovably secured to L-shaped portion 32 by any means known in the artfor securing two parts together, such as but not limited to nuts andbolts, screws, sliding tracks, magnets, etc. In yet other cases,L-shaped portions 32 may be configured for pipe mounting. In particular,the upper surface of L-shaped portions 32 shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 7 and8 may alternatively be concave. In such embodiments, mounting brackets28 may be configured solely for pipe mounting. In other such cases,however, mounting brackets 28 may include an addendum part configuredfor coupling with the upper surface of the concave L-shaped portions andfurther have a substantially flat opposing surface for mounting to asubstantially flat surface of a structure.

In any case, mounting brackets 28 may be adjustable such that thespeakers of the unit may be directed toward the driver seat and/or frontpassenger seat of a vehicle. In particular, L-shaped portions 32 ofmounting brackets 28 may swivel about circular portions 34 which areattached to the sides of the housing encasing the backside of speakers12. In this manner, when L-shaped portions 32 are secured to astructure, linear array of speakers 12 and all of the components encasedin its backside housing may be moved in a rotary manner, particularly tochange the angle at which the linear array of speakers is directed. Itis noted that L-shaped portions 32 may swivel 360 degrees about circularportions 34 and, thus, in some cases, mounting brackets 28 may beadjusted to attach audio system 10 to an underlying structure or asideways structure. In particular, mounting brackets 28 may be adjustedto move L-shaped portions 32 approximately 180 degrees from thepositions depicted in FIGS. 1-9 such that the parts of L-shaped portions32 jutting out from the side of the housing are in proximity to thelower surface of the housing. In fact, mounting brackets 28 may beadjusted to move L-shaped portions 32 any number of degrees from thepositions depicted in FIGS. 1-9 such that L-shaped portions 32 may besecured to a structure, whether it is overhead, sideways or under lineararray of speakers 12. In any case, circular portions 34 may be securedto the sides of the housing via a nut and bolt or screw, which may befurther tightened to secure L-shaped portions 32 in a particularlyposition.

It is noted that audio system 10 is not restricted to the combination ofmounting mechanisms depicted in FIGS. 1-9. In particular, audio system10 may alternatively be void of one or two of bolt-on application 26,mounting brackets 28, and sliding track mounts 29 or may be void of allthree mounting mechanisms. Moreover, audio system 10 may include othermounting mechanisms in addition to or alternative to bolt-on application26, mounting brackets 28, and sliding track mounts 29. In yet otherembodiments, audio system 10 may be void of any mounting mechanisms.

It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure that this invention is believed to provide speakersystems, particularly for but not limited to use in off-road vehicles,ATVs, UTVs, watercraft and motorcycles. Further modifications andalternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Forexample, although the aforementioned figures and accompanying textdescribe an example of a speaker system with a linear array of speakers,the speaker systems described herein are not so limited. In particular,any number and arrangement of speakers may be considered for the speakersystems described herein. Accordingly, this description is to beconstrued as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching thoseskilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. Itis to be understood that the forms of the systems shown and describedherein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elementsand materials may be substituted for those illustrated and describedherein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of thesystems may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to oneskilled in the art after having the benefit of this disclosure. Changesmay be made in the elements described herein without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A speaker system, comprising: a linear array ofspeakers; a housing encasing a backside of the linear array of speakers,wherein the housing comprises sliding track mounts along its top andbottom surfaces each for receiving a mounting; one or more nut and boltfasteners for mounting the speaker system to a surface, wherein the oneor more nut and bolt fasteners are arranged over the sliding track thatis arranged along the top surface of the housing; and mounting bracketsarranged along opposing lateral sides of the housing for mounting thespeaker system to a surface.
 2. The speaker system of claim 1, whereinthe mounting brackets are configured for flat surface mounting.
 3. Thespeaker system of claim 1, wherein the mounting brackets are configuredfor pipe mounting.
 4. The speaker system of claim 1, wherein themounting brackets are configured for flat surface mounting and pipemounting.
 5. The speaker system of claim 1, wherein the mountingbrackets are adjustable.
 6. The speaker system of claim 1, furthercomprising an audio signal source within the housing and which iselectrically coupled to the linear array of speakers.
 7. The speakersystem of claim 1, further comprising an amplifier within the housingand which is electrically coupled to the linear array of speakers. 8.The speaker system of claim 1, further comprising a battery pack withinthe housing and which is electrically coupled to the linear array ofspeakers.
 9. The speaker system of claim 1, further comprising lightemitting diodes arranged along a side of the speaker system comprising afront side of the linear array of speakers.
 10. The speaker system ofclaim 6, further comprising an auxiliary input port and an auxiliaryoutput port within an exterior of the housing, wherein the auxiliaryinput is electrically coupled to the linear array of speakers, andwherein the auxiliary output port is coupled to the audio signal source.11. A speaker system, comprising: a linear array of speakers; and ahousing encasing a backside of the linear array of speakers, wherein thehousing comprises a first sliding track mount along its exterior surfaceabove the linear array of speakers and a second sliding track mountalong its exterior surface below the linear array of speakers, andwherein each of the first and second sliding track mounts are forreceiving a mounting.
 12. The speaker system of claim 11, wherein atleast one of the first and second sliding tracks extends between lateralends of the housing.
 13. The speaker system of claim 11, furthercomprising one or more bolt-on applications arranged over the firstsliding track for mounting the speaker system to a surface.
 14. Thespeaker system of claim 11, further comprising mounting bracketsarranged along opposing lateral sides of the housing for mounting thespeaker system to a surface.
 15. The speaker system of claim 11, whereinthe housing comprises a substantially planar exterior backside surfacebehind the linear array of speakers.
 16. The speaker system of claim 11,wherein the housing comprises: an upper side comprising the firstsliding track mount; a lower side comprising the second sliding trackmount; and a backside extending between the upper side and the lowerside, wherein the backside is aligned in a plane substantially parallelwith a front side of the linear array of speakers, and wherein thebackside comprises a height of at least at one third of the height ofthe linear array of speakers.
 17. The speaker system of claim 11,wherein the first and second sliding track mounts are spacedapproximately equidistant from a plane comprising a front side of thelinear array of speakers.
 18. A speaker system, comprising: a lineararray of speakers; a housing encasing a backside of the linear array ofspeakers, wherein the housing comprises a sliding track mount along itsexterior surface for receiving a mounting; and one or more bolt-onapplications arranged over the sliding track for mounting the speakersystem to a surface.
 19. The speaker system of claim 18, wherein thesliding track is arranged along a top surface of the speaker system. 20.The speaker system of claim 18, further comprising mounting bracketsarranged at opposing lateral sides of the housing for mounting thespeaker system to a surface.